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A courageous Doberman was shot after it leapt to defend its owner from a pair of armed thugs.
Loodewyk De Jager, 58, was followed home by the gunmen after withdrawing his month’s salary from a nearby bank.
He was confronted by the two robbers outside the gate of his home in the town of Brakpan, South Africa, when things escalated.
Video footage shows how as one o the men holds a gun to Loodewyk at point blank range, his dogs Niki and Duiwel rush in an overpower the assailant.
Niki took a bullet and needed 14 stitches – seven on the top of her back and seven at the exit wound on the side of its stomach – but luckily the round missed all of her vital organs.
Recalling the heart-stopping encounter, Loodewyk said: ‘I first noticed them when they parked behind me on the driveway. They came to the window and told me to open up, so I did.
‘They took my car keys and I just thought, they can take my car and go, it’s insured. But then he started asking me “where’s the money, I know you have money”.’
Loodewyk’s granddaughter came to the gate with the family’s two dogs to welcome him home and realised an armed robbery was taking place.
The animals got out and knocked one of the gunmen to the ground, who then fired three shots in retaliation.
Loodewyk said: ‘He shot the dog, and the second shot went off through the gate and through my granddaughter’s pants and into the wall behind. The third shot was fired into the air.’
His granddaughter initially thought she had been shot in the leg because she felt the bullet’s heat, but quickly realised there was no blood.
Loodewyk said Niki was shot in the back, but was successfully treated by vets and is recovering well.
He added: ‘She saved my life, they would have shot me, they told me they were going to shoot me.’
His friend Riaan Viviers created an online fundraising campaign after the suspects stole the victim’s monthly salary during the robbery on September 1.
So far it has raised 31,285 ZAR (£1,422) of its 35,000 ZAR (£1,590) target.
Loodewyk’s daughter Tracey de Meillon said: ‘My father is doing okay although he seems more cautious now.
‘Niki is doing well she is strong and full of energy. We are very relieved that she only needed stitches and that there was no additional internal injuries. We are so thankful to God that we all came out if this alive.
The investigation into the robbery is ongoing.
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